Monthly Archives: April 2018

When my friend (and second cousin) Jim Stinson suggested we set up a paranormal investigation at his nineteenth-century era rooming house, I didn’t hesitate. After visiting The Old Rooming House numerous times, I knew it was haunted and was eager to explore it.

The Old Rooming House is an Italianate Victorian house built in 1896. While originally a family home, it was established as a classic comfort boarding house in 1949 by Mary Rickens, who charged $3 a week and expected her boarders to be “neat, clean and polite.” Mary ran her business for over 35 years, and then sold it to Jim Stinson, the current proprietor. Jim remodeled the house, adding extra bathrooms and varnishing the hardwood floors. Since then he’s continued to add to the house’s impressive collection of vintage travel memorabilia, antique furniture, and much-loved books.

People who stay there feel a sense of peace and relaxation. For many, the experience of stepping back in time provides them with an opportunity to unwind and recharge themselves. Jim says that many people will check in with the expectation of exploring the town, only to find themselves taking a nap instead.

We decided to try something different. Instead of just hosting a ghost hunt, we required all the attendees to book a room and spend the night. This kept the groups small and gave everyone a chance to explore the haunting as well as enjoy the tranquility the Old Rooming House offers.

For me, it was a chance to explore the history of the building by going directly to the source.

March 30th Investigation

My good friend Deb Burdick came to this event, along with Jim’s next door neighbor, Jessica. Deb has a long history with The Old Rooming House, having helped Jim set it up when he opened it in the 1990’s. Rounding out the rest of the group were two families from Illinois. I knew right away that we would have a good night because the groups quickly bonded with one another. If I liked them, I was fairly certain the ghosts at the Old Rooming House would too.

During the opening session, I turned on my recorder and began explaining how the investigation would work. While I was talking, a woman’s whispery voice said, “I do,” in response to if they understood how to use the flashlight to communicate with us. Thirty seconds later, I felt a touch on my finger. It felt like a fly landed on me but there wasn’t a fly anywhere in the room. I mentioned it to the group and the flashlight came on immediately.

Sitting Room

We introduced ourselves and then I passed the dowsing rods around the group. When it was Frank’s turn, his hands were shaking as he held the rods. He apologized for his shaking hands and we received an EVP at that point. The same female voice consoled him, saying “You’re fine.”

During a dowsing rod session, we learned the following information:

Raised a family in the house – flashlight came on

Mannie was in the house – both dowsing rods and flashlight

The fire was intentionally set

Leora was present – She was born in the house next door and lived there until she died at 99. When the house was 100 years old, she gave it a birthday party. She took care of her family. Since we had a surprise guest, we began asking her questions with the dowsing rods. Here are the responses:

She had many good memories in the house

There were many parties held in the house

She still feels the love that was made in the house

She was happy we were there – both dowsing rods and flashlight response

I turned on the Spirit Box and we went around the group and asked questions.

Someone asked what their favorite room in the house was. A male voice said “pink,” which was followed by a female saying “up.” We weren’t sure what they meant by that since there aren’t any pink rooms upstairs. Perhaps there used to be a pink room upstairs?

During the Spirit Box session, we heard a knocking sound coming from the floorboards. It started near Deb, knocking twice and then knocked again beside me. We spent a few minutes trying to find a natural reason for it but couldn’t.

Room #3

We moved upstairs to Room #3 and continued our investigation after a short break. Almost immediately, we heard a knock on the window beside me. It sounded like a knuckle rapping on glass.

We introduced ourselves again in case we were talking to someone new. As I told them we were there to communicate with them and wished them no harm, the flashlight came on quickly.

There were more than one there

Someone there studied French

They all get along

I was running my iOvilus during the EVP session and it said “David, threat, ticket.” That didn’t make sense to any of us, but I’m including this here in case it makes sense later.

We moved to the Spirit Box. It was fairly quiet until Heather began trying to pin down the age of the soul we were talking to. She asked if it was her age or younger and a deep female voice said, “I will be.” It was quiet for several more questions, not speaking until Ed passed when it was his turn. A clear male voice said, “Don’t stop now.”

Deb asked if she liked the work she did and a female voice said what sounds like, “I ironed.”

I decided to lighten things up a bit and asked everyone to go around the circle and tell us what their favorite pie is. The responses were mouth-watering, even to the souls residing there. After Corey said, “pumpkin,” a female voice piped up and said, “Chocolate.”

We then moved onto the dowsing rods. Since Jessica seemed to have the best responses when she used them, I asked her to hold the rods while everyone asked questions.

They were happy we were there

There were three of them there

They like music

Some of them are musicians and have played music together

There were three spirits there (confirming this for the second time)

They didn’t mind if we did another investigation (slow yes)

She bought the house in the 1930’s (Mannie bought it in 1947-49)

Richard family owned it before her. It was a residence

Guests were expected to be well behaved

She’s the one who encourages Jim to make hospital corners when making beds

She wishes Jim would paint the exterior

She had a lot of friends in New Harmony

They wanted us to leave the room and move to another room (the rods actually pointed to the door)

Room 4

We moved to Room #4 and continued with the dowsing rods.

Confirmed she bought the house in the 1930’s

One of them was a female

There are three of them

At least one of them is a musician (confirming a previous response)

One of them followed us from another room

One of them played music at dances in town

One of them played at the dance hall in town

At least one of them went to church

At least one of them was married

One of the people we were talking to was Mannie

She likes the way New Harmony is now

She sometimes leaves the house to visit other locations in town

She likes to go to the Labyrinth

She used to have picnics

No response when I asked if she belonged to a Women’s club

There were men’s clubs in town

One of them went to dances on the second floor of the Oddfellows Building

Lisa asked if someone could knock on something to show us they were truly there. There was an immediate knocking sound in the hallway behind us. She continued with the dowsing rods.

One of them didn’t think of us as friends, but considered us guests

One of them was originally from New Harmony

One of them ventured outside of New Harmony

One of them plays the piano

No one plays the guitar

One of them sings a lot (the rods began spinning after the “yes” response

One of them sang in church

None of them listened to Elvis Presley but did listen to music on the radio

Tennessee Ernie Ford wasn’t popular then

One of them liked going down to the Wabash River and liked to fish

One of them knew Jane Owen

Some of them try to communicate with guests at the Old Rooming House

Some of them think about leaving and going somewhere else

None of them have lived outside the United States

We moved onto Spirit Box and had several clear responses. I asked who we were talking to and a voice came through very clearly. He said, “I’m Nick.” The response really took us back because it was so loud and clear. We began asking him other questions, but he wouldn’t respond to them. Someone asked if he’d been downstairs and he said, “Who me?” someone asked the same question again (we were getting tired at this point) and he said, “You talking to me?”

One of the guests had been to Antique Emporium earlier in the day and talked to the shop owner, Paula, about her resident ghost Bebe. The woman began asking if the ghosts at the Old Rooming House knew Bebe. The responses were inconclusive. We thought we heard something different than what was actually said in many cases. Someone asked if they’d gone fishing with Bebe and a voice said, “We didn’t.” It’s highly possible they didn’t know the ghost from Antique Emporium when she was alive. The time periods could have been vastly different and they might not have recognized her name. We aren’t even certain her name is Bebe. That’s just a nickname they gave her at the shop.

Since the majority of my group was from Illinois, someone asked if the ghosts had ever been to Illinois. Two voices responded. One said, “No,” and the other said, “I didn’t.”

Someone asked if we had been in their room before, earlier in the evening, and a female voice said, “We talkin’.” The same question was asked again a few minutes later (again, we were getting tired) and the ghosts cut us some slack. “You talking to me?” one of them said.

Perhaps the best response we received all night came when someone asked if any of them played the banjo. “Mannie,” was the response. This is interesting because the former owner, Mary Rickert’s nickname was Mannie.

It was getting late, so we moved downstairs to Room #1.

Room #1

We did a Spirit Box session, but it was clear they were getting as tired as we were. We didn’t get a single response on the Spirit Box so we moved back to the dowsing rods.

They didn’t like the noisy box (Spirit Box)

There were two females and a male there

One of the females was Mannie

Leora doesn’t stay there but popped in to say hi

No response when we asked if the man’s name was Nick

I asked if I got Nick’s name wrong and it said “yes” and the flashlight came on

The other female is quiet and doesn’t wish to communicate

The three of them aren’t related

They have frequent ghost visitors from other houses

Bebe is one of those visitors

One of them was born in the 1900’s

One of them was born in the 1800’s

We were amused to see the rods begin pointing to the next person, as though they were prompting us to move it along. We passed the rods and began asking more questions.

There is something valuable hidden in the house

They would gladly share with us

At least one of them drank illegally during prohibition

There were some speak easies in New Harmony

One of them likes rum

The Old Rooming House was never a speak easy

The person upstairs was Richard or “Dick” for short, not Nick

He was from Illinois

He liked to sing

After we finished that session, it was clear that everyone was tired. We concluded our investigation by thanking the residents for allowing us in their space and everyone went to bed. As expected, they all slept soundly.

Evidence Review 3-31-18

I returned for the second investigation the following day. The second group was smaller than the first. We had two groups from the Evansville area attend. One was an experienced paranormal investigator named Donna, who attended with her friend, sister and her mother. The other group was a woman and her 13 year-old-daughter, Zoey.

We started out in the sitting room and did a quick EVP session. I like to do a burst session to start things off. A burst session is when you go around the group and ask just a few questions while recording it on a digital recorder. You then listen to the recording to see if anyone responded. Even though we got a response during my Friday night investigation, we didn’t get anything this time.

We then moved onto dowsing rods. I demonstrated how to use them and then passed them around the group, inviting everyone to try them. Not everyone is adept at dowsing. Some people are just a natural conduit, while others are not.

There was someone there with us

The person was a female

She was happy I came back again

There wasn’t anything we did the previous night that they didn’t like

She watches over the guests and makes sure they are okay

Her name was Mannie

She had trouble with some guests over her time there

She liked to plant flowers

She liked her guests to be comfortable

She liked roses

She loved New Harmony

She has ridden in a horse and buggy

I then went to Spirit Box.

I told them that they are going to fix the old Harmony Way bridge and asked if she knew that. A voice came through and said, “You can watch me.”

Room 3

We started out with a dowsing rod session. I was curious to see if Leora was there with us and received a “no” response. I continued on.

Manny was friends with Leora

I asked if Manny was married and got a very slow no response (her husband died before she did)

She said she did not have children

She liked her guests to be polite, neat and clean

We got a slow “yes” response when asked if she fed her guests. (she fed the ones who stayed with her for long periods)

She had an automobile

It’s okay for them to come back and visit again

She had people there to clean for her – Mannie did most of it herself

She had trouble with guests before

We asked about the fire. It damaged the home but no one was hurt.

We didn’t know it at the time, but we actually recorded a ghost voice responding to the question just after the dowsing rods crossed. It said, “no.”

The building was repaired quickly after the fire (it actually sat empty for a year)

The fire was set intentionally

It was the only major fire they had there (we asked more questions about the fire and who set it but the person is still alive, so I don’t want to disclose this information publicly)

They played board games there

Mannie liked children

She had many favorite guests who returned again and again

Someone has tried to break in before

A guest died there and is still there – died of natural causes (heart attack)

She allowed pets to be there, but only certain animals

She liked dogs more than cats

Women were treated equal when she owned the rooming house

She’s happy that Jim keeps the place neat and clean

She knew they were coming before they got there

She liked all color roses

She had a garden

She had chickens at one time

She loved animals

She visits places around town, including shops, churches and restaurants

She comes and goes as she pleases

People see a white light when they pass

Passing is much easier than what people think

There is an afterlife

It’s a continuous circle

We then moved to Spirit Box. We didn’t get a tremendous amount of responses, but the ones we did receive were intelligent.

Someone asked if there was anyone on the staircase. “To the right,” was the response. It was enough to make us go out into the hallway to look. We didn’t see anything, but it was still an interesting response.

Since we felt we had been talking to Mannie for most of the evening, we frequently checked in to make sure she was still with us. When someone asked if Manny was still there, a voice said “Manny.” It wasn’t necessarily confirmation of her presence, but it was validation that the ghosts in the house could hear us and respond clearly.

Someone asked if Nick was still there and a female voice said, “Nick’s escaped.” This was a bit alarming to me on several accounts. It was a very clear intelligent response…and I had a new ghost in my house. I felt it earlier that morning when I woke up. Was it possible that Nick followed me home?

At least ten minutes went past without getting a single blip on the Spirit Box. Someone asked who owns the rooming house and a voice said something that sounded vaguely like “Jimmy,” came through, followed by “old coat.” I asked the owner about this and he said that a man named Bob often came to the Rooming House and died several years ago (not on the premises). Jim went to a yard sale some time later and bought one of Bob’s old coats.

We took a break and resumed our investigation in Room 4.

Room #4

We started out with the Spirit Box but didn’t get anything clear so we moved to dowsing rods.

Nick was married

He had children

He lived out of state

He stayed there often (slow yes)

He liked Manny

Room 4 was the room he often stayed in

They were allowed to bring women up to their rooms

They asked if he was married and this time got a “no”

We began to wonder if we were talking to two different ghosts and the answer was yes.

Nick was a businessman

He knew about the fire but wasn’t staying there when it happened

He had a dog who sometimes stayed with him

He stayed there for long periods of time

The other female who is there wasn’t there when Nick was there

I began asking questions about afterlife and the rest of the group joined in.

They’d never been to Heaven

They do see a while light when they die and can decide whether to go into it or not

She didn’t leave because she didn’t want to leave the house

There isn’t a hell

When people die, they never go to a bad place

Everybody is welcome in Heaven

Every person has spirit guides

Some people have more than one

It said that I had three, which surprised me because I thought I only had two. Then I remembered my grandma Nanny who has been with me all my life. They confirmed this.

Everyone went around the room and asked about their spirit guides. Nearly everyone had more than one and many had relatives watching over them.

We choose to come back and live new lives (reincarnation)

We make contracts when we come back

If people choose not to go through the light, they can cross over later

Room 1

We talked for a bit and then did a Spirit Box session. After nearly ten minutes without receiving a single response, we turned it off. I played a few songs from their time period to see if I could generate any activity, but it was apparent the ghosts were getting as tired as we were. We ended up having a long conversation about pendulums. One of the members of the group had one, so she pulled it out and we demonstrated how to use it.

We didn’t receive any more responses, so we called it a night.

All in all, it was a great experience for everyone involved. It wasn’t a scary ghost hunt. It was a way to connect directly with the people who created the history of the property. We were honored for the chance to communicate with them.

Thank you to Jim Stinson at the Old Rooming House for his hospitality. Like many of the buildings in New Harmony, I felt that the building was gently haunted. A former owner and a guest or two loved it so much they decided to stick around. Most people wouldn’t even know about it unless they pursued it like we did.